


The future of Always

by Mintsea



Series: How The Light Gets In [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Always, Battle of Hogwarts Aftermath, F/M, Ron is an excellent friend and brother, hinny reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:01:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22851421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mintsea/pseuds/Mintsea
Summary: Harry and Ginny reunite at Hogwarts immediately after the war is won. Harry realises “always” will be just as important to his future, as it now is to his past.
Relationships: Harry Potter / Ginny Weasley
Series: How The Light Gets In [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1593019
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	The future of Always

Ginny isn’t sure how exactly it happens, how her and Harry find each other in the debris and death of the battle aftermath, but their reunion is relatively low key considering. Harry, Ron and Hermione are crossing the Entrance Hall on their way to the Great Hall when Ginny walks through the large doorway towards them search of privacy and a place to collect her thoughts. 

Harry notices her immediately — but Ginny can barely see, blinded by exhaustion and the thick tears she can no longer hold back. She stumbles into him before she realises, finding his arms open and waiting for her embrace, but in an instant, in a flash of green eyes and dark messy hair, she’s clutching to him like letting go casts herself adrift. 

It feels like coming home, like an almost impossible and gigantic sense of relief to hold him, and as thick sobs tear loudly through her chest, their embrace on each other tightens. He smells like sweat and damp grass and if it wasn’t for the acrid smell of dark magic and the scratches on his face she’d let herself believe he’d just been through a vicious Quidditch match and hadn’t just ended Voldemort’s reign of terror once and for all, with his own interlude of fake death. Because what happens now? Now it’s all over? How do they — how does anyone? — move forward? 

It takes a few moments to pull herself together, the relief at seeing Harry relatively unharmed mixed with the grief of losing Fred, Tonks and Remus a viscous whiplash of relief and sadness, but Ginny does and while she untangles herself from Harry’s comforting arms, she can’t bring herself to let go of his hand, entwining her longer fingers with his with little want to ever let go.

She hugs Hermione and Ron in turn, somewhat awkwardly given she’s still attached to Harry, but no one says anything that makes her feel uncomfortable about that. And once her and Ron have hugged tightly and he’s pressed a tenderly brotherly kiss to the top of her head as his own eyes fill with unshed tears for their lost brother, she finds herself standing beside Harry again, close enough that their arms aren’t just touching but shoulders resting against each other, united.

“Do you think we could have a minute?” Harry asks Ron and Hermione almost apologetically but to Ginny’s surprise Ron doesn’t protest. 

“‘Course, mate,” Ron nods, no longer the slightest bit perturbed at his baby sister and best friend‘s request for privacy, not given they are both looking at each other like the other one hangs the moon. “Take all the time you need, alright?” Ron tells Ginny gently with a soft voice. Then he rounds on Harry. “I know it is hectic mate, but don’t run off, alright?” 

Harry nods. “Alright,” he agrees. 

They share a look — the three of them— which Ginny wants to point out is unfair because it seems to communicate a whole bunch she doesn’t understand and wouldn’t have any hope to given she hasn’t seen all three of them in several long months, but their silent conversation ends with Ron patting Harry on the shoulder and walking away into the Great Hall with Hermione tucked under his arm. 

She’s about to ask when that exactly happened when Harry squeezes her hand. 

“Take a walk with me?” He asks softly, and Ginny nods, letting him lead her out of the castle and into the grounds, his hand warm and slightly sweaty against hers. 

She supposes this doesn’t technically count as running away.

He walks slowly, his feet laced with exhaustion as they lag almost heavily on the ground, but Ginny finds the pace calming. She can’t remember the last time she  just walked . Just let her feet - or really in this instance Harry’s - lead her somewhere without a conscious effort to be there. She realises it is a symptom of a chaotic year, always looking over her shoulder, always worrying about her every move....and everyone’s safety...and if the brewing war would ever end....and if she’d ever wake up feeling hopeful for her future, instead of dragging herself kicking and screaming into wakefulness every morning following nightmares of torture and hatred and longing...

“...I can’t believe it’s actually over,” Harry finds himself saying and it’s not a great start but it certainly rouses her from her reverie as they meet the lakes edge. 

Harry’s brought them to their favourite spot by the lake, near a bank of trees that afford them some shade and thick trunks to lay against. It seems like a lifetime ago since they’d been there together. 

They are at the lake when his confession surfaces and Ginny turns to face him, burying her both hands in his.

“I don’t know how to feel about that either,” she admits meeting his eye. 

He’s in the worst shape she’s even seen, his face sallow from months on the run...and there is a particular nasty cut over his left eyebrow that really needs a clean...

Harry takes a deep nervous inhale and looks away momentarily like he’s trying to collect his thought and she knows, just knows, the next words out of his mouth are about to be an apology. One she doesn’t want or need right now, especially if it is about their break up, Voldemort or Fred...Instead she redirects.

“What happens now?” She asks softly, trying to change his train of thoughts. His eyebrow lifts in curiosity of her question, and she continues on. “What happens when it is all over? And you can just be Harry?” 

And she finds herself smiling a little when Harry actually shrugs and shakes his head albeit with a healthy sense of self-deprecation.

“I have no idea,” he admits earnestly, nervously flattening the back of his stupidly dirty and messy hair. “I haven’t been  _ Just Harry _ since my eleventh birthday and Hagrid turned up with a birthday cake and told me I was a wizard.”He smiles at her when she breaks out into an awkward laugh. “What?” 

Ginny shrugs, teasing him a little. “I can’t really imagine you with a nice quiet life, Potter.” It isn’t a criticism, but an observation and he can’t fault her that. He’s got to admit, this year has taught him a lot...given him a lot of time to consider if he did have a future what it would look like. And every time it featured Ginny. He had made some truely shocking plans over the last few years. But one of the best ones he ever following through on was kissing Ginny Weasley. 

Harry steps closer, lifting his hand slowly to caress Ginny’s right cheek with his thumb gently, and it sends a shiver across her skin, making her blush. He leans forward, pressing his lips to hers softly, holding her close. It’s tender and short and Ginny finds herself chasing his lips, moving so she’s stepped closer and pressed against him, her hands in his hair and gripping at fistfuls of jacket as she deepens the kiss boldly. 

It is intense and passionate and everything she has missed about him. He tastes like the chocolate Madam Pomfrey had distributed a little while ago, and she finds herself gripping at his jacket pulling him impossibly closer. She’d give a lot for a nice quiet sport with him and some actual privacy to ask all the questions speeding through her mind, but right now it’s not that important.

“Sorry,” he says a little bashfully pulling back a bit. “It’s the first time I have kissed you in nearly a year and I haven’t brushed my teeth in days...”

She shakes her head not caring in the slightest as she smiles back at him. She is still in his embrace, his arms wound around her waist. Today is an awful loss...a horrible compound of years of trauma, but he’s alive and okay and she is grateful and proud. 

“Whatever’s next Harry...” Ginny starts a little nervously, “I hope I am part of the plan? By your side?”

Harry smiles, tipping her chin a little with his thumb and forefinger so he can look at her more intently. 

“Always,” he tells her softly, knowing she doesn’t quite understand the power, importance and gravitas of that simple six letter word just yet, but when she does, it’ll be everything to them. Their truth word, the one that holds them together through thick and thin.

Ginny smiles back at him. “A life with you Potter,” she hums teasingly, “what am I in for?” 

Harry grins in return, more happy that she believes she’s ever seen before. And it’s so beautiful, it brings fresh unshed tears to her eyes. 

They sit by the edge of the lake together for an hour or two, Harry’s back resting against the large shady tree, Ginny seated between his long legs, her head on his chest. He holds her tightly as their light conversation becomes silence, and they begin to dose — just two young wizards, finally free from an oppressive war, with their whole new life ahead of them. 

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for any mistakes. Planning a few different chapters for Harry / Ginny’s life between Deathly Hallows and Cursed Child, but they will only get written with your help and encouragement. 😊 please leave a comment if you can.


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